Thursday, December 6, 2012

Sara picks some of her favorite items in the The Holiday Shops, zeroing in on the fun and quirky gift options in the park. Perfect for kids!

I first noticed j-wave on the Upper Terrace while I was en route to the Citi Tree lighting. As I soon discovered, the “j” in j-wave stands for “Japanese.” Everything in the store embodies the notion of kawaii—cute—and most items are adorned with adorable animal faces. The shopkeeper, Yuko, habitually models a rotating selection of kigurumi—one-piece animal outfits that can be worn as costumes or pajamas. The one pictured sells for $59 and is machine-washable. A smaller children’s size is also available.

Maybe you picked the quirky cat lady of the office as your “Secret Santa” gift recipient? Or maybe your dear aunt is a quirky cat lady? Consider the die-cut animal calendars. Miniature-sized ones are priced at $8 and the regular-sized ones are $10. Seemingly every breed of cat or dog is represented; I’m hoping my office-mate will swoon for the Persian cat combo. Maybe Santa will throw in a tiny hand-painted figurine ($3) for good luck, too.